Hair Accessory

ABSTRACT

A ponytail cover includes an elastic band extending between first and second free ends. Fastening portions such as Velcro portions or hooks are positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band and can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder. Strips of hair extend over and substantially cover a surface of the elastic band that is outwardly facing when formed into the loop. A ponytail holder includes a band of hair extending between first and second free ends and hooks attached to the first and second free ends that can be fastened together to secure the ponytail holder when the band of hair is wrapped around a ponytail.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a hair accessory such as a ponytail cover or holder.

2. Description of Related Art

A ponytail is a hairstyle in which a portion of the hair on the head is pulled away from the face, gathered and banded, usually at the back of the head, with an elastic band, clip, ring or some other securing device, commonly known as a ponytail holder. For example, FIG. 1 depicts a rubber band 10 tightly wound around ponytail 12 to secure the ponytail. A primary problem associated with ponytail holders is that they clash with the color and texture of the hair and have a very noticeable and unnatural appearance.

Various attempts have been made to improve the appearance of a ponytail holder. US 2010/0108089, for example, describes a ponytail clip 10 for concealing a ponytail band 40. Clip 10 includes multiple sections 17, 18 made of metal, plastic, glass or stone. This is a complicated and cumbersome design, and also maintains a noticeable and unnatural appearance relative to the hair. Further, the ends of clip 10 are secured to each other using clasp portions 15, 16 that secure the ends of clip 10 together but only loosely as clip 10 can still slide up and down along the ponytail. In order to retain clip 10 over band 40, an elongate pin 19 that penetrates the ponytail at a position over band 40 is necessary.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,263,884 seeks to improve the outward appearance of a ponytail holder by employing a device 10 that includes elastic band 12 and synthetic hair fibers 14. However, device 10 is a closed loop and is itself used to bind the ponytail. Thus, device 10 must be twisted and doubled up in order to achieve a tight fit around ponytail 52. The result is multiple tight loops around ponytail 52, some of which consist of elastic band 12 and some of which consist of hair fibers 14. One must attempt to move the tightly wound loops of hair fibers 14 to conceal the tightly wound and overlapping loops of elastic band 12. Thus, it may not be easy or even possible to completely conceal all loops of elastic band 12, and attempts to rearrange the tightly wound loops, may result in damage to hair fibers 14 and ponytail 52.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a hair accessory that can easily be applied to a ponytail to conceal or provide a natural outward appearance to a ponytail holder.

A ponytail cover according to one embodiment of the invention includes an elastic band extending between first and second free ends. First and second fastening portions are positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band and can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder. Strips of hair extend over and substantially cover a surface of the elastic band that is outwardly facing when formed into the loop.

In one implementation, the ponytail cover includes a first Velcro portion formed on an outwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the first free end, and a second Velcro portion formed on an inwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the second free end. A hair weft extends between first and second ends and comprises strips of hairs extending between and joined together at the first and second ends of the hair weft. The first and second ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second Velcro portions are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.

In another implementation, the ponytail cover includes first and first and second hooks attached to the first and second free ends of the elastic bands. A hair weft extends between first and second ends and comprises strips of hair extending between and joined together at the first and second ends of the hair weft. The first and second ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second hooks are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.

Another embodiment of the invention is a ponytail holder comprising a band of hair extending between first and second free ends. First and second fastening portions are attached to the first and second free ends of the band of hair and can be fastened together to secure the ponytail holder when the band of hair is wrapped around a ponytail. In one implementation, the band of hair is formed by braiding strips of human or synthetic hair, and the first and second fastening portions are hooks.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, various features of embodiments of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a side view of a typical ponytail holder such as a rubber band.

FIG. 2A is a side perspective view of an unfastened ponytail cover according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2B is a top view of the unfastened ponytail cover according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 2C is a side perspective view of a fastened ponytail cover according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3A is a side perspective view of an unfastened ponytail cover according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3B is a side perspective view of a fastened ponytail cover according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a side perspective view of an unfastened ponytail holder according to a third embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIGS. 2-4 depict hair accessories according to various embodiments of the invention. FIGS. 2A-2C and 3A-3B show a hair accessory embodied as a ponytail cover according to the present invention, and FIG. 4 shows a hair accessory embodied as a ponytail holder according to the present invention.

A ponytail cover 20 according to a first embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 2A-2C. Ponytail cover 20 is formed by an elastic band 22 having Velcro portions 24 and 26 at opposite free ends. Elastic band 22 is made of a pliable, stretchable material and has a sufficient length so as to be able to wrap around and hold tightly against a ponytail. Further, band 22 has a sufficient width so as to completely conceal the underlying ponytail holder, such as rubber band 10 shown in FIG. 1

In FIGS. 2A-2C, Velcro portion 24 is a “hook” Velcro portion and is formed on outward facing surface 28 of band 22, whereas Velcro portion 26 is a complementary “loop” Velcro portion formed on an inward facing surface 30 of band 22. Thus, band 22 may be wrapped to form a loop, with Velcro portions 24 and 26 overlapping and engaging each other to form and fasten the loop. Velcro portions 24, 26 may be securely attached to the ends of band 22 by means such as glue, or could alternatively be formed integrally at the ends of band 22.

Velcro portions are a highly effective and reliable means for fastening the ends of band 22 to form a loop and have many advantages, such as ease of use in fastening and unfastening, and complete concealment of the means for fastening. Further, the use of Velcro portions provides some flexibility in adjusting the diameter of the fastened ponytail cover to thereby accommodate different thicknesses of ponytails. However, alternative fastening means such as hooks, clips, buttons, magnets, etc. could be employed. The second embodiment of FIGS. 3A-3B, for example, is a ponytail cover of similar construction using hooks as its fastening means.

A weft 32 of human or synthetic hair is attached above outward facing surface 28. Hair weft 32 comprises strips of hair that are joined at their ends by a band or seam 34, or other appropriate means such as adhesion, heat, etc, In turn, the band or seam 34 joining the hairs at each end of hair weft 32 is fastened to band 22 by sewing, stitching, gluing, heat, adhesion or other suitable means. As is best illustrated in FIG. 2B, hair weft 32 covers a substantial portion of outward facing surface 28 of band 22, with only Velcro strip 24 being uncovered at one end. In FIG. 2B, a small portion of band 22 is also uncovered at the end of band 22 opposite strip 24. This small portion of band 22 is wrapped around the end of hair weft 32 to assist in fastening that end of hair weft 32 to band 22. However, this is merely illustrative and hair weft 32 may completely cover this end of band 22 and be secured to the end of band 22 without any wrap around portion of band 22.

FIG. 2C shows ponytail cover 20 in a fastened position, with Velcro portions 24, 26 engaged to form a loop. As can also be seen in FIG. 2C, hair weft 32 conceals virtually the entire outward facing surface 28 of band 22, such that when cover 20 is wrapped around a ponytail holder such as rubber band 10 in FIG. 1, the entire holder is concealed and the hair of weft 32 blends with the hair of the ponytail to provide a natural outward appearance.

A ponytail cover 40 according to a second embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIGS. 3A-3B. Ponytail cover 40 is similar to ponytail cover 20 in that it is formed by an elastic band 42 having an outwardly facing surface 48 that is nearly completely concealed by a hair weft 52. However, hooks 44 and 46 are employed as fastening means rather than Velcro portions. Like band 22, elastic band 42 is made of a pliable, stretchable material and has a sufficient length so as to be able to wrap around and hold tightly against a ponytail and a sufficient width so as to completely conceal the underlying ponytail holder.

Hooks 44, 46 are securely attached to the free ends of band 42 by an appropriate means such as sewing, stitching, heat, adhesion, etc., and in the illustrated embodiment are formed of metal. However, hooks 44, 46 may be formed by any other appropriate material such as plastic.

Like hair weft 32, hair weft 52 comprises strips of human or synthetic hair that are joined at their ends by a band or seam 54 or other suitable means,. In turn, the band or seam 54 is fastened to band 42 by sewing, stitching, gluing or another suitable means. One advantage of the use of hooks, as can be seen in FIG. 3A, is that nearly the entire outward facing surface 48 of band 42 can be covered by hair weft 52, as there is no need to keep a Velcro portion uncovered. However, as hooks 44, 46 are more conspicuous than Velcro portions 24, 26, greater care must be taken to ensure that hooks 44, 46 are securely connected and positioned behind the ponytail, so as not to diminish the natural outward appearance of hair weft 52.

FIG. 3B shows ponytail cover 40 in a fastened position, with hooks 44, 46 engaged to form a loop. As can also be seen in FIG. 3B, hair weft 52 conceals virtually the entire outward facing surface 48 of band 42, such that when cover 40 is wrapped around a ponytail holder such as rubber band 10 in FIG. 1, the entire holder is concealed and the hair of weft 52 blends with the hair of the ponytail to provide a natural outward appearance.

FIG. 4 depicts a ponytail holder 60 according to a third embodiment of the invention. Ponytail holder 60 is itself formed of natural or synthetic hair, and thus both acts to hold the ponytail and is self-concealing.

Ponytail holder 60 is formed of a band 62 of human or synthetic hair with hooks 64, 66 at opposite ends of hair band 62. In the embodiment of FIG. 4, band 62 is formed by braiding strips of human or synthetic hair. However, this is merely illustrative and the hair forming band 26 could be arranged in alternative styles. The strips of hair comprising band 62 are joined at their ends by bands or seams 68, 70 or other appropriate means. Hair band 62, in this embodiment, comprises nearly the entire length of ponytail holder 60, with only bands or seams 68, 70 and hooks 64, 66 at each end not being comprised of hair. Thus, when wrapped around a ponytail with hooks 64, 66 fastened and secured behind the ponytail, only the hair forming band 62 is visible, thereby blending with the hair of the ponytail and providing a natural outward appearance. In effect, ponytail holder 60 is self-concealing, such that a separate ponytail cover is not needed.

Ponytail holder 60 is used to secure a ponytail by wrapping hair band 62 tightly around the ponytail, typically in several loops, and securing hooks 64, 66 together behind the ponytail. The length of holder 60 should be sufficient to wrap tightly at least once around the ponytail, and typically several loops around the ponytail are desirable.

The embodiments of the invention described in this document are illustrative and not restrictive. Modification may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims. For example, ponytail holder 60 could be formed by wrapping the hairs forming band 62 loosely around an internal elastic band, so as to conceal the band and accommodate expansion and stretching by the band when wrapped around a ponytail Further, alternative fastening means such as clips, buttons, magnets, Velcro, etc. could be used in place of hooks 62, 64. 

1. A ponytail cover comprising: an elastic band extending between first and second free ends; first and second fastening portions positioned at the first and second free ends of the elastic band that can be fastened together so as to form the elastic band into a loop to cover a ponytail holder; and strips of hair extending over and substantially covering an outward facing surface of the elastic band, wherein the strips of hair are joined at first and second weft ends by bands or seams to form a weft, and the bands or seams at the first and second weft ends are fastened to the elastic band so as to substantially cover the outward facing surface of the elastic band.
 2. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the first fastening portion is a hook portion and the second fastening portion is a loop portion.
 3. The ponytail cover of claim 2, wherein the hook portion is formed at the first free end of the elastic band on the outward facing surface of the elastic band, and the loop portion is formed at the second free end of the elastic band on an inward facing surface of the elastic band.
 4. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the first and second fastening portions are first and second hooks.
 5. (canceled)
 6. The ponytail cover of claim 1, wherein the weft is formed from human or synthetic hair.
 7. A ponytail cover comprising: an elastic band extending between first and second free ends; a hook portion formed on an outwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the first free end; a loop portion formed on an inwardly facing surface of the elastic band at the second free end; a hair weft extending between first and second weft ends and comprising strips of hair extending between and joined together by bands or seams at the first and second weft ends of the hair weft, wherein the bands or seams of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the hook and loop portions are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop.
 8. A ponytail cover comprising: an elastic band extending between first and second free ends; first and second hooks attached to the first and second free ends of the elastic band; and a hair weft extending between first and second weft ends and comprising strips of hair extending between and joined together at the first and second weft ends of the hair weft, wherein the first and second weft ends of the hair weft are fastened to the elastic band to substantially cover the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band when the first and second hooks are fastened together to form the elastic band into a loop, and the hair weft is spaced from the outwardly facing surface of the elastic band. 9-11. (canceled) 